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Part of the art of managing a budget consists
of balancing overspends, and if potential overspends can be spotted
early enough, something can usually be done. There are certain areas
within budgets that are easier to cut back on than others such as
tapestock, expenses, overtime, travel and on-line editing, should
the need arise. The pressure to run over budget can be intense on
any production, however well constructed, so this is always an area
of concern in any production.
A good way of keeping costs to a minimum is
to eliminate desirables and just keep essentials in the project.
Also remember also that interviewees or actors
might cancel at short notice prior to the shoot, or locations may
become inaccessible, so it is vital that you cost a certain amount
into a project to cover the unexpected. This way you will ensure
that every eventuality is covered and that thing such as this will
not be extra costs thrown at you, leading to an overspend.
A lot of companies include a percentage in the
original budget to cover any overspends and this is generally in
the region of around 2%. If you are in a position of potential overspend,
try to limit the damage and deal with the problem internally to
protect yourself. Unless an overspend it is at the client's request,
you should not approach them and ask for the figure to be increased,
but above all, address overspends before they occur.
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